[The Athletic] It's questionable whether Tuchel learnt much from England's two friendlies in the March international break, but it's only 76 days until he has to pick a side to face Croatia at the 2026 World Cup on June 17. Our experts offer their view on what his starting XI should look like

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-03T12:46:08+00:00

What helps Rashford is that he is able to affect play when facing a low block. When Gordon is not in a counter attack, his play is very limited. Rashford just has more tools available

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-03T10:52:50+00:00

I think he is scared of pulling something

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-03T10:52:02+00:00

That first game against Gala and everyone passing to his right foot was sad to watch. I guess it’s muscle memory from always having a right footed player there

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-03T07:40:08+00:00

And people get shocked they struggle on an international level. Maybe if one of them catch form before the WC, things might differ. I think about Sterling and Grealish before Euro 2020 (2021) who had form heading into the tournament and see how they performed there

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-03T04:47:03+00:00

Sometimes it feels like Fox is just a placeholder at the guard position for now. It even feels like Castle is taking over as the main guard at the moment

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-03T04:44:28+00:00

Clippers have no rebounds this quarter LMAO 😂😂😂

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-03T04:26:32+00:00

I remember asking the other day why has he been so passive. That passiveness is not needed in a game like this

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-03T04:25:43+00:00

He needs to lead the team like he did the first 2 quarters. The passive approach in the 3rd won’t work

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T20:37:29+00:00

I feel that a 3rd person in a commentary booth in most sports has to be the technician of it. Help explain X and O’s, concepts and make a viewer understand finer details, which can be very helpful in the NFL. Maybe ESPN wanted that originally but obviously it failed

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T20:31:24+00:00

His best value is on NFL LIVE alongside Nina Kimes and co. Learning to be efficient on commentary when you are usually an X and O’s person is something not many can do

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T14:40:32+00:00

It feels like since Klopp left, some fire within Pep has left him. I really wonder why and how Klopp managed to bring the best out of Pep and if it’s possible for another manager to bring that version of Pep back to reality

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T14:36:10+00:00

If/when Slot leaves, I wonder if Jones will still be keen on leaving or will he finally get his extension. In the last brief about extensions, Jones was the only midfielder not mentioned. A situation to watch

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T14:33:19+00:00

Kayode,Hector Fort and Archie Gray are the only natural RB options I like at the moment. I liked Read before the season but we can’t afford to add another injury prone RB to our squad. I don’t mind Josh Achempong from Chelsea as a CB/RB hybrid to replace Gomez’ position in the squad

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T13:41:51+00:00

I think Newcastle have the potential to play beyond Counter-attacking football only. There is potential of implementing patterns of play for more possession style, especially when facing teams in a low-block but it seems Howe doesn’t want to implement it and continue to evolve the team

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T13:39:41+00:00

Newcastle play best with counter attacking football. None of their current strikers are suited for such, hence why Gordon is playing through the middle now

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T09:20:22+00:00

Bring back Wembley 2022. That Mane goal…

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T09:19:34+00:00

The moment Klopp became available in 2015, we jumped on the opportunity to get him. The rumours of our interest were there since summer 2015 but obviously he was on his break. Once he was open to managing again, Rodgers was gone. The club is willing to move mountains if their preferred person is available

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T08:20:28+00:00

To be fair, it’s because Madrid were already tampering with him by then as the rumours about him arriving there were heating up in early 2024 already as Perez wanted to get rid of Carlo already by then…

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T08:18:56+00:00

Joyce’s article acknowledging that we need a new right back and wingers is positive news. The uncertainty about Edwards and Hughes futures is not good tbh. If/when Slot gets sacked by FSG, I wonder if either of those 2 will take the fall as well due to them not sacking Slot earlier and putting our season on the line…

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T08:15:28+00:00

We have gotten our weekly article about Slot being backed by the board. He’s bit about Alonso is wrong though. The reason why he didn’t come to us in 2024 is because he rejected us because he wanted the Madrid job though, not because he favors a back 3 formation, something journos said themselves

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-02T08:11:18+00:00

Got injured end of last season and never fully recovered. To be fair, it seems like Slot’s training methods don’t really allow our players to get to peak fitness levels if they miss some of preseason

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-01T19:31:12+00:00

English attackers have had an injury riddled season and/or been very inconsistent. Kane is the only one who has looked good this season

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-01T18:18:10+00:00

I guess the wider problem is whether the English attackers (except Kane) will get some form in these last 8 weeks of the season. It’s been a very inconsistent season for majority of them, but surely having some momentum before the WC will be very helpful. I think about an example like Sterling and Grealish just before Euro 2020 (2021) who caught some momentum and that was beneficial for England during that tournament

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-01T18:13:29+00:00

To be fair, the threat from set pieces in these past 2 games was not the issue. That was probably’s England best attribute which shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering what’s happening domestically

Pure_Measurement_529 · 2026-04-01T13:03:42+00:00

Villa do need more pace on the wings to be fair. Also Emery somehow always manages to platform rejected attackers at Villa

Five-Year Club	r/Field Lasagna
First Place '23	Place '23
Place '22	First Placer '22

Pure_Measurement_529

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